Pentagon still reviewing records, but so far finds no threat to U.S. security

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Julian Assange, founder of the WikiLeaks website, holds up a copy of The Guardian newspaper as he speaks to reporters in front of a Don McCullin Vietnam war photograph on Monday at The Front Line Club in London.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — An ongoing Pentagon review of the massive flood of secret documents made public by the WikiLeaks website has so far found no evidence that the disclosure harmed U.S. national security or endangered American troops in the field, a Pentagon official told NBC News on Monday.

The initial Pentagon assessment is far less dramatic than initial statements from the Obama White House Sunday night after three major news organizations – The New York Times, the Guardian and Der Spiegel — published what was touted as an unprecedented “secret archive” of classified military documents relating to the war in Afghanistan. The documents appear to show, among other matters, close collaboration between elements of the Pakistani intelligence service and the Taliban — an awkward issue that U.S. intelligence officials have strenuously complained about for some time but are loath to talk about publicly.

The news organizations said they received the documents from WikiLeaks, a controversial website that specializes in soliciting and publishing sensitive government documents. No sooner did the stories appear this weekend than U.S. National Security Adviser James Jones “strongly” condemned the WikiLeaks disclosure, saying that the trove of classified documents “could put the lives of American and our partners at risk and threaten our national security.”

But David Lapan, deputy assistant secretary of defense for media operations, told NBC News on Monday that a preliminary review by a Pentagon “assessment” team has so far not identified any documents whose release could damage national security. Moreover, he said, none of the documents reviewed so far carries a classification level above “secret” — the lowest category of intelligence material in terms of sensitivity.

The review team — consisting of military intelligence analysts, lawyers and others working for the Joint Chiefs of Staffs and other elements of the Defense Department — is examining the Wikileaks material to determine whether the disclosures endanger U.S. troops in the field, harm U.S. national security or compromise sources and methods for intelligence gathering.

While the team so far has not found any that would meet any of those criteria, Lapan noted that WikiLeaks has yet to publish all the documents it claims to have. Moreover, the Pentagon review has been stymied by the fact that, for at least part of the day Monday, the military team was unable to access WikiLeaks.org — apparently because of the heavy traffic it was receiving. In effect, the Pentagon analysts were unable to read classified government documents that had already been posted and read by the general public around the world.

The disclosure came as a spokesman for WikiLeaks said the international organization has no idea who provided the classified material to the organization through its website. There has been considerable speculation that the material had been provided by Pfc. Bradley Manning, the U.S. soldier arrested in Baghdad last month after boasting that he had leaked a video showing a U.S. military strike that killed civilians in Iraq. Manning also said that he had provided WikiLeaks of other classified military documents.

John Farrell, a spokesman for WikiLeaks in London, said that if Manning was in fact the source of the documents, “then we believe him to be an international hero.”

Video: Leaked war docs provide details, no bombshells

Transcript of: Leaked war docs provide details, no bombshells

BRIAN WILLIAMS, anchor:There has been a massive leak. There are so many pages of
military
secrets now public, the
Pentagon
hasn't even read all of them.
Ninety-one
thousand documents have been released on the
Internet
by the whistle-blower
Web site
wikileaks.org, and they have more. Some of the documents ripped the
cover
off the US-led
war effort
in
Afghanistan
. They tell a story that some veterans of

the region know full well:more civilian deaths than are ever reported, unexplained American deaths, questionable battlefield tactics, and a mission just not going that well. This comes just as the US, of course, is gearing up this new push in the conflict. We have two reports to start off with tonight. First, our
Pentagon
correspondent
Jim Miklaszewski
.
Jim
, good evening.

JIM MIKLASZEWSKI reporting:Good evening,
Brian
. This massive leak provides incredible detail and insight into the
US war in Afghanistan
. Day by day, battle by battle, it's a tough look at the worst of the war. The staggering mountain of documents, nearly 92,000, covers a six-year stretch of the war ending last December when the US
war effort
was failing and the
Taliban
was on the rise. The
secret documents
were released by the whistle-blower
Web siteWikiLeaks
and its founder
Julian Assange
.

Mr. JULIAN ASSANGE:The real story of this material is that it's war. It's one damn thing after another. It is the continuous small events, the continuous deaths of children, insurgents.

MIKLASZEWSKI:Many of the documents tear the
cover
off
Pakistan
's alleged secret support for the
Taliban
.
The US
has long complained to
Pakistan
that its
intelligence service
, the
ISI
, was working with the
Taliban
; but today's release provides shocking and specific new details. Even as
Pakistan
accepted billions in
US aid
, the documents suggest
ISI
officials conspired with
Taliban
leaders to plan attacks against
American forces
in
Afghanistan
. Former
ISI
chief
Hamid Gul
was reportedly deeply involved in the
Taliban
operation. In an
NBC
interview today he fired back.

Mr. HAMID GUL:I deny it vehemently, outrightly. I think it is mischievous. It is fictitious, and it is fabricated.

MIKLASZEWSKI:At the
White House
today, press secretary
Robert Gibbs
called the allegations old news, and insisted
Pakistan
has stepped up its efforts to eliminate safe havens and drive out the
Taliban
.

Mr. ROBERT GIBBS:I am not going to stand here on July the 26th and tell you that all is well. I will tell you that we have made progress in moving this relationship forward.

MIKLASZEWSKI:The documents do show serious concerns among
US military
commanders. They repeatedly complain about lack of resources, unreliable Afghan soldiers and a corrupt
Afghan government
. Some cases suggest possible
militarycover
-ups. In
May 2007
documents show the
Taliban
shot down a
US helicopter
with a shoulder-fired heat-seeking missile, killing seven soldiers.

Flipper 75 engaged and struck with a
Missile

MIKLASZEWSKI:But American commanders concealed that fact. Today
US military
officials tell
NBC News
that it was an Iranian-made heat-seeker that brought down the chopper. There are concerns, however, that this massive breakdown in security, revealing sources of battlefield intelligence, puts
US forces
and their allies at greater risk.

General BARRY McCAFFREY, Retired (NBC News Military Analyst):Will we see friendly
human intelligence
sources murdered by the
Taliban
in
Pakistan
or
Afghanistan
? Will we lose access to intelligence that we use to protect our soldiers?

MIKLASZEWSKI:The White House
and
Pentagon
argue that since most of these documents were written, the president signed off on a new strategy, and more
American forces
are headed to
Afghanistan
, providing a better chance for success. But given the history in
Afghanistan
, nobody's making any promises.

Brian:Jim Miklaszewski
starting us off at the
Pentagon
.
Jim
, thanks.